TW201947685A - Apparatus for gaseous byproduct abatement and foreline cleaning - Google Patents

Abstract

Embodiments disclosed herein include an abatement system and method for abating compounds produced in semiconductor processes. The abatement system includes a remote plasma source for generating an oxidizing plasma for treating exhaust gases from a deposition process performed in the processing chamber, the treatment assisting with the trapping particles in an exhaust cooling apparatus. The remote plasma source then generates a cleaning plasma for treating exhaust gases from a cleaning process performed in the processing chamber, the cleaning plasma reacting with the trapped particles in the exhaust cooling apparatus and cleaning the exhaust cooling apparatus.

Description

Equipment for gas byproduct elimination and foreline line cleaning

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate generally to semiconductor processing equipment. More specifically, embodiments of the present disclosure relate to an elimination system and a vacuum processing system for removing undesired compounds generated during a semiconductor process.

Process gases used by semiconductor processing facilities include numerous compounds such as TEOS, SiH ₄ that must be eliminated or processed due to regulatory requirements and environmental and safety considerations. Conventional elimination techniques can lead to the formation of solid particles in equipment downstream of the processing chamber, such as exhaust lines and pumps. If solid particles formed in equipment downstream of the processing chamber, such as exhaust lines and pumps, are not properly controlled, damage to the hardware in the pumping system can occur.

Therefore, there is a need in the art for an improved elimination system for eliminating compounds generated in a semiconductor process.

In one embodiment, a reagent is injected into the plasma source to assist in the elimination of the compound. Plasma is used as an energy source to change the composition of the compounds from the chamber, changing the composition of the compounds to different compounds that better meet regulatory limits, improve safety, and provide improved life of the exhaust pump and downstream elimination components And maintenance intervals.

In one embodiment, an elimination system for a processing chamber is provided. The elimination system includes: an exhaust system including a vacuum pump coupled to the processing chamber; an exhaust cooling device coupled to the exhaust system between the processing chamber and the vacuum pump; and a remote plasma source having a plasma Supply to the outlet of the exhaust system downstream of the processing chamber and before the exhaust cooling device. The remote plasma source is connected to an oxygen source, a clean gas source, and an inert gas source, wherein the outlet of the remote plasma source is fluidly connected to enter the exhaust fore stage at a position adjacent to the exhaust cooling device connected to the inlet of the foreline line. Pipeline.

In one embodiment, a processing system is provided. The processing system includes: a processing chamber; an exhaust system including a vacuum pump coupled to the processing chamber; an exhaust cooling device coupled to the exhaust system between the processing chamber and the vacuum pump; and a remote plasma source for The plasma is supplied to an exhaust system downstream of the processing chamber and before the exhaust cooling device. The remote plasma source is connected to an oxygen source, a clean gas source, and an inert gas source, wherein the outlet of the remote plasma source is fluidly connected to enter the exhaust front stage at a position adjacent to the exhaust cooling device connected to the inlet of the foreline Pipeline.

In one embodiment, a method for processing a gas in an exhaust system of a processing chamber is provided. The method includes: using an oxidizing plasma generated by a remote plasma source to treat exhaust gas from a deposition process performed in a processing chamber; capturing particles in an exhaust cooling device; and using a remote plasma source The cleaning plasma processes exhaust gases from a cleaning process performed in a processing chamber. The cleaning plasma reacts with the captured particles in the exhaust cooling device and cleans the exhaust cooling device.

FIG. 1 is a schematic side view of a vacuum processing system 170 incorporating a remote plasma source 100 into a removal system 102. The vacuum processing system 170 includes at least a vacuum processing chamber 190 and a removal system 102. The elimination system 102 includes at least a plasma source 100, an exhaust cooling device 117, and a processing vacuum pump 196. The vacuum processing chamber 190 is generally configured to perform at least one integrated circuit manufacturing process, such as a deposition process, an etching process, a plasma processing process, a pre-cleaning process, an ion implantation process, and / or other integrated circuit manufacturing processes. In some embodiments, the vacuum processing chamber 190 is configured to process substrates for device manufacturing, display or solar applications. The processes performed in the vacuum processing chamber 190 may be plasma assisted, such as a plasma assisted chemical vapor deposition chamber capable of performing a plasma enhanced deposition process. For example, a process performed in the vacuum processing chamber 190 can perform a plasma enhanced deposition process for depositing a silicon-based material using a silicon-containing gas (eg, silane, disilane) or a plasma etch for removing the silicon-based material. Process.

The vacuum processing chamber 190 has a chamber exhaust port 191, which is coupled to an exhaust cooling device 117 of the elimination system 102 via an exhaust foreline 192. The exhaust gas cooling device 117 is coupled to the vacuum processing chamber 190 so as to cool the exhaust gas leaving the plasma source 100 and collect particles formed in the exhaust gas foreline from the vacuum processing chamber 190, such as silicon dioxide particles. An exhaust cooling device 117 is coupled to the exhaust duct 193 and to the processing vacuum pump 196. Exhaust duct 194 couples a vacuum pump 196 to a combustion / humidification subsystem 198. The processing vacuum pump 196 is typically used to evacuate the vacuum processing chamber 190, while the combustion / humidification subsystem 198 typically includes a scrubber or other exhaust cleaning equipment for preparing the effluent of the vacuum processing chamber 190 to enter the atmosphere.

The exhaust gas cooling device 117 is coupled between the vacuum processing chamber 190 and the processing vacuum pump 196 for reducing the temperature of the exhaust gas in the exhaust foreline 192 and for collecting the exhaust gas formed in the exhaust foreline 192. particle. In one example, the exhaust cooling device 117 is part of the elimination system 102. The exhaust gas leaving the vacuum processing chamber 190 may be deposited on a cold surface (surface having a temperature substantially lower than the temperature of the exhaust gas) inside the exhaust gas cooling device 117. An example of a material that can be collected in an exhaust cooling device is silicon dioxide.

In some embodiments, the vacuum processing chamber 190 includes a remote plasma source 185 for generating clean radicals, such as fluorine radicals, which flow into the processing region 189 of the vacuum processing chamber 190 for cleaning Vacuum processing chamber 190. Unreacted clean radicals can leave the vacuum processing chamber 190 and enter the exhaust foreline 192 and exhaust cooling equipment 117, thereby removing the cooling of the exhaust foreline 192 and exhaust previously during the integrated circuit manufacturing process Material deposited in the device 117. In some embodiments, the cleaning process performed within the vacuum processing chamber 190 is effectively performed, which results in a minimal amount of unreacted cleaning free radicals leaving the vacuum processing chamber 190 and entering the exhaust foreline 192. The cleaning process that effectively cleans the vacuum processing chamber 190 will typically not provide enough cleaning radicals to effectively clean the exhaust cooling device 117 during normal use.

Thus, in order to ensure that sufficient unreacted clean radicals reach and effectively clean the exhaust cooling device 117, the elimination system 102 includes a remote plasma source 100, which can be used to provide a clean plasma to clean the exhaust气冷 设备 117。 Gas cooling equipment 117. The remote plasma source 100 is used to perform a elimination process on the gas and / or other materials leaving the vacuum processing chamber 190, so that such gases and / or other materials can be subsequently captured or converted into more environmentally friendly and / or processing equipment friendly Composition. For example, the remote plasma source may be an inductively coupled plasma source, a capacitively coupled plasma source, a DC plasma source, or a microwave plasma source. The remote plasma source 100 may be coupled to the elimination system 102 to ionize, clean, purify a carrier or other process gas, and provide the ionized gas to the elimination system 102, and generate clean radicals to clean the exhaust cooling device 117 . For example, the first gas supply source 104 may be coupled to a remote plasma source 100 to provide an inert or non-reactive gas, such as argon (Ar), to the elimination system 102 therethrough. A second gas supply source 106 may be coupled to the remote plasma source 100 to provide a cleaning gas (such as NF ₃ ) therethrough to the elimination system 102. Other contemplated cleaning gases include fluorocarbon and / or halogen-containing gases such as NF ₂ H, CHF ₃ , CF ₄ , F ₂ , HCl, Cl ₂ and SF ₆ and the like. Additionally, a third gas supply source 108 may be coupled to the remote plasma source 100 to provide a reactive reagent (such as O ₂ ) therethrough to the elimination system 102. As shown in FIG. 1, the remote plasma source 100 may be coupled to the exhaust foreline 192 via a pipe 112. The reactive gas facilitates the removal of accumulated deposits from the internal volume of the elimination system 102, thereby reducing or removing the need for disassembly of the elimination system 102 for cleaning. In one embodiment, clean radicals (such as NF ₃ plasma) generated in the plasma source 100 may flow into the exhaust foreline 192 and into the exhaust cooling device 117 to remove the exhaust cooling device 117 Solid by-product materials or particles that are formed or collected.

In one embodiment, an oxidizing agent (such as an O ₂ plasma) generated in the remote plasma source 100 may be delivered from the remote plasma source 100 into the exhaust foreline 192 to communicate with the vacuum during the deposition process. The processing chamber 190 flows to the precursor product of the processing vacuum pump 196 for reaction. The oxidizing reagent reacts with precursor by-products from the deposition process and promotes the conversion of the precursor gas by-products into solid by-products or particles to enhance the amount of solid by-products or particles captured in the exhaust cooling device 117. Increasing the amount of solid by-products captured in the exhaust cooling device 117 Reduces reactant by-products flowing through the exhaust cooling device 117 and into the process vacuum pump 196, through the exhaust duct 194, and to the combustion / humidification subsystem 198 The amount of product gas, thereby increasing the expected life of the processing vacuum pump 196 and the combustion / humidification subsystem 198, and also reducing the time between maintenance processing of the vacuum pump 196 and the combustion / humidification subsystem 198, thereby helping to increase tools operation hours.

The exhaust cooling device 117 may be located at a distance D _F (such as at least 10-40 feet or more) from the processing chamber 190 in the sub-fab location of the manufacturing facility, and may be separated by the facility wall or floor 301. The exit of the remote plasma source 100 of the elimination system 102 may flow into the exhaust foreline 192 at a location 195 in the exhaust foreline, which is substantially adjacent to the inlet of the exhaust cooling device 117. In one example, the exhaust foreline 192 before entering the exhaust cooling apparatus 117, a position located at a distance D _R at 195, such as 12 inches, or about 6 inches and a distance between 18 inches. It has been found that when the O ₂ plasma generated by the remote plasma source 100 at a distance D _R (between 6 inches and 18 inches) is introduced into the exhaust foreline from the inlet to the exhaust cooling device 117 At 192, exhaust cooling equipment 117 captures more solid by-product material.

The exhaust duct 194 allows gas to flow from the processing vacuum pump 196 to the combustion / humidification subsystem 198. For example, exhaust foreline 192, exhaust pipe 193, vacuum pump 196 and exhaust pipe 194, and associated hardware may be formed from one or more process compatible materials, such as aluminum, anodized aluminum, nickel-plated aluminum, Stainless steel, and combinations and alloys thereof. For example, the exhaust cooling device 117 may be formed of a similar process compatible material or made of a material that helps condense the exhaust gases. The combustion / wet elimination subsystem 198 may be a combustion / wet elimination subsystem as known in the semiconductor manufacturing industry. For example, the elimination system 102 may be provided in a location separate from the vacuum processing chamber 190 within the manufacturing facility and separated from the vacuum processing chamber 190 by a wall or floor 301. The separation of the elimination system 102 from the vacuum processing chamber allows the elimination system to be maintained in environments that do not require strict clean room air purity classification requirements.

The elimination system 102 including the remote plasma source 100, the first gas supply source 104, the second gas supply source 106, the third gas supply source 108, and the exhaust cooling device 117 may communicate with the controller 199. The controller 199 may also communicate with the vacuum processing chamber 190 and the processing vacuum pump 196.

The controller 199 may include a central processing unit (CPU) 199A, a memory 199B, and a supporting circuit (or I / O) 199C. The CPU may be one of any form of computer processor that is used in industrial settings to control various processes and hardware (eg, motors, valves, power delivery components, and other related hardware) and monitor the process (For example, processing time and substrate positioning or location). Memory (not shown) is connected to the CPU and may be one or more of easily accessible memories, such as random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), floppy disks, hard disks, Or any other form of digital storage (local or remote). Software instructions, algorithms and data can be encoded and stored in memory to instruct the CPU. A support circuit (not shown) is also connected to the CPU to support the processor in a conventional manner. Supporting circuits may include conventional cache memory, power supplies, clock circuits, input / output circuits, subsystems, and the like. Programs (or computer instructions) readable by the controller determine which tasks can be performed by the elimination system 102. The program may be software readable by a controller, and may include code for monitoring and controlling, for example, processing time and eliminating system process variables and processing actions.

In operation, the controller 199 detects when deposition occurs in the vacuum processing chamber 190 and causes the oxidizing agent generated in the remote plasma source 100 to be delivered to the exhaust foreline 192 to communicate with the vacuum processing chamber 190 The reaction of the flowing precursor product. The controller 199 also detects when the performance of the processing system is hindered by the large number of particles accumulated in the exhaust cooling device 117, and the controller 199 can cause the use of a remote plasma source 100 to generate a cleaning plasma to direct the cleaning plasma to the exhaust The air cooling device reacts with particles deposited in the exhaust cooling device and removes the particles.

FIG. 2 illustrates a method of using a reactive plasma enhanced gas to react with precursor by-products flowing in an exhaust foreline, forming a solid by-product, and subsequently capturing the solid by-product in an exhaust cooling device. According to certain aspects of the present disclosure, a subsequent plasma containing clean gas reacts with the captured solid by-products to form an evaporable material. As shown at operation block 202, the substrate deposition process is performed in a vacuum processing chamber to form an exhaust gas. For example, referring to FIG. 1, a plasma deposition process using a precursor gas such as TEOS or other silane-based precursors is performed in a processing region 189 of a vacuum processing chamber 190 to deposit a film on a substrate disposed therein. The process generates exhaust gas including unprocessed precursor gas, the exhaust gas exits the chamber through the chamber exhaust port 191, and enters the exhaust foreline line 192 as an exhaust gas stream.

Operation continues at operation block 204, where a remote plasma source 100 is used to generate a reactive plasma in the elimination system and mix the plasma-enhanced reactive gas with the exhaust gas stream delivered from the processing chamber 190. For example, referring to FIG. 1, during a plasma deposition process, a reactive plasma using oxygen is generated in a remote plasma source 100 to generate an oxidized plasma. The oxidation plasma enters the exhaust foreline 192 at a location 195 in the foreline (a distance between 6 and 18 inches from the exhaust cooling device 117) via the pipe 112. Oxidation plasma reacts with reactive, flammable and / or explosive gases found in the exhaust gas stream, thereby reducing entry into the process vacuum pump 196 and further downstream of the combustion / humidification subsystem 198 and scrubber exhaust pumps of other facilities The amount of flammable or explosive gas. In one example, the reaction between the oxidation plasma and a by-product gas in the exhaust gas stream promotes the conversion of precursor by-products into solid by-products or particles, such as silicon dioxide.

At operation block 206, operation continues by capturing particles in a region of the exhaust line (eg, exhaust cooling device 117). As an example (and see FIG. 1), particles generated by the reaction between the precursor byproduct gas and the oxidation plasma are captured in an exhaust cooling device 117 connected between the vacuum processing chamber 190 and the vacuum pump 196. The particle-generating reaction reduces the amount of flammable or explosive gas in the exhaust gas stream. The reduction in the amount of flammable or explosive gases entering the pump 196 and the combustion / humidification subsystem 198 extends the life of these components, reduces maintenance intervals, and also increases tool uptime.

The operation block 208 is an optional cleaning operation for removing particles from the exhaust cooling device before the subsequent chamber cleaning operation block 210. Where the effectiveness of the processing system is hindered by the large number of particles accumulated in the exhaust cooling equipment, optional operation block 208 may be performed. At operation block 208, the cleaning plasma is generated in the elimination system 102 using the remote plasma source 100 and directing the cleaning plasma to the exhaust foreline 192 and into the exhaust cooling device 117. For example, after a decision is made that the amount of particles in the exhaust cooling equipment positively and negatively affects the performance of the vacuum processing system 170, a clean plasma (such as a fluorine plasma that generates clean radicals) eliminates the remote electricity in the system 102. Produced in pulp source 100. The cleaning plasma enters the exhaust foreline 192 at location 195 via the pipe 112 and enters the exhaust cooling device 117 and reacts with the particles deposited and removes them. In one example, NF _{3 is} used as a cleaning gas to form a cleaning plasma. Other contemplated cleaning gases include fluorocarbons and halogen-containing gases such as NF ₂ H, CHF ₃ , CF ₄ , F ₂ , HCl, Cl ₂ and SF ₆ and the like.

Operation resumes at operation block 210 by performing a chamber cleaning process in the vacuum processing chamber 190. For example, (see Figure 1) Once the deposition process or series of deposition processes is completed, and between the processing substrates, a remote plasma source 185 fluidly connected to the vacuum processing chamber generates a clean plasma, such as fluorine that generates clean free radicals. Plasma. The clean radicals flow into the processing region 189 of the vacuum processing chamber 190 to react with and remove the deposited materials remaining on the internal chamber walls and the processing chamber components from the deposition process. Suitable cleaning gases include fluorocarbons and halogen-containing gases such as NF ₃ , NF ₂ H, CHF ₃ , CF ₄ , F ₂ , HCl, Cl ₂ and SF ₆ and the like. The resulting cleaning process exhaust gas including unreacted clean radicals enters the exhaust foreline 192 and the elimination system 102.

At operation block 212, operation continues by using the remote plasma source 100 to generate a cleaning plasma in the elimination system 102 and mixing the cleaning plasma with an exhaust gas stream generated by a process chamber cleaning process. For example, during a chamber cleaning process within the vacuum processing chamber 190, a cleaning plasma, such as a fluorine plasma that generates clean radicals, is generated in the remote plasma source 100 within the elimination system 102. The cleaning plasma enters the exhaust foreline 192 at position 195 via the pipe 112 and is mixed with the exhaust gas in the exhaust foreline 192. The cleaning plasma enters the exhaust cooling device 117 and reacts with and removes the deposited particulate material that remains trapped in the exhaust cooling device 117 during the deposition process. The deposited material reacts with a clean plasma that produces non-reactive gas by-products that continue along the exhaust duct 193 and enter the processing vacuum pump 196 and into the combustion / humidification subsystem 198 and other facility scrubber rows. Further downstream of the air pump. In one example, NF _{3 is} used as a cleaning gas to form a cleaning plasma. Suitable cleaning gases for generating a cleaning plasma include, but are not limited to, fluorocarbon and / or halogen-containing gases such as NF ₃ , NF ₂ H, CHF ₃ , CF ₄ , F ₂ , HCl, Cl ₂ and SF ₆ and Similar. In one example, the NF ₃ cleaning plasma reacts with the deposited particles, such as silicon dioxide, to form a non-reactive gas SiF ₄ . The non-reactive SiF ₄ flows through the processing vacuum pump 196 and into the combustion / wet elimination subsystem, where SiF _{4 is} again converted into a particulate material, such as silicon dioxide, where the particulate material can be easily removed from the combustion / wet subsystem .

Accordingly, apparatus and methods are provided for processing flammable or explosive by-product gases and preventing the accumulation of particles in the vacuum foreline of the deposition system. The exhaust gas from the deposition process can be treated with a reactive plasma to facilitate the processing of the reactant gas and to promote the production of by-product particles captured in the exhaust cooling equipment. The exhaust gas from the cleaning process of the subsequent processing chamber is treated with a clean plasma using a clean gas (such as NF ₃ ) to react with by-product materials in the exhaust cooling equipment to form non-reactive SiF ₄ , and SiF ₄ flows out of the exhaust The air cooling equipment flows into the exhaust air stream and flows towards the vacuum pump and other facilities to eliminate the subsystem and exhaust scrubber.

Benefits of the aspects described herein include safer and faster cleaning of the exhaust system. The aspects described herein can reduce the cleaning time of the abatement components including the vacuum pump and the combustion / wet abatement unit. In addition, the duration between time and cost preventive maintenance can be extended, improving tool uptime and reducing maintenance costs.

Although the above content relates to aspects of the present disclosure, other and further aspects of the present disclosure can be designed without departing from its basic scope, and its scope is determined by the scope of the following patent applications.

100‧‧‧Remote Plasma Source

102‧‧‧ Elimination system

104‧‧‧The first gas supply source

106‧‧‧Second gas supply source

108‧‧‧Third gas supply source

112‧‧‧pipe

117‧‧‧Exhaust cooling equipment

170‧‧‧Vacuum processing system

185‧‧‧Remote Plasma Source

189‧‧‧ processing area

190‧‧‧Vacuum processing chamber

191‧‧‧ Chamber exhaust port

192‧‧‧Exhaust Foreline

193‧‧‧Exhaust duct

194‧‧‧Exhaust duct

195‧‧‧Location

196‧‧‧handling vacuum pump

198‧‧‧Combustion / wet removal subsystem

199‧‧‧controller

199A‧‧‧Central Processing Unit (CPU)

199B‧‧‧Memory

199C‧‧‧Support circuit (or I / O)

202‧‧‧Operation Block

204‧‧‧Operation Block

206‧‧‧Operation Block

208‧‧‧Operation Block

210‧‧‧Subsequent chamber cleaning operation block

212‧‧‧Operation Block

301‧‧‧ ground

D _F , D _R ‧‧‧ Distance

In order to be able to understand the manner in which the above features of the present disclosure are used in detail, a more specific description of the present disclosure briefly summarized above may be made with reference to embodiments, some of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. It will be noted, however, that the drawings show only typical embodiments of the disclosure and are therefore not to be considered limiting of its scope, as the disclosure may allow other equally effective embodiments.

FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of a processing chamber and an elimination system including a remote plasma source and exhaust cooling equipment according to an embodiment described herein.

FIG. 2 depicts a flowchart of a method for processing exhaust gas according to an embodiment described herein.

Claims (20)

An elimination system for a processing chamber, comprising: An exhaust system including a vacuum pump coupled to the processing chamber; an exhaust cooling device coupled to the exhaust system between the processing chamber and the vacuum pump; and a remote plasma source having a An electric plasma is supplied to an outlet of the exhaust system downstream of the processing chamber and before the exhaust cooling device, and the remote plasma source is connected to an oxygen source, a clean gas source, and an inert gas. A gas source, wherein the outlet of the remote plasma source is fluidly connected to enter an exhaust foreline at a location adjacent to an exhaust cooling device connected to an inlet of the foreline. The elimination system of claim 1, further comprising a controller, wherein the controller causes the remote plasma source to further supply a dissociated gas to the exhaust system. The elimination system of claim 1, wherein the clean gas source supplies NF ₃ , NF ₂ H, CHF ₃ or CF ₄ to the remote plasma source. The elimination system of claim 1, wherein the inert gas source supplies argon to the remote plasma source. The elimination system of claim 1, wherein the outlet of the remote plasma source is fluidly connected to enter the location upstream of the inlet to the exhaust cooling device at a location between 6 inches and 18 inches Exhaust foreline. The elimination system according to claim 1, wherein the remote plasma source is one of the following: an inductively coupled plasma source, a capacitively coupled plasma source, a DC plasma source, or a microwave plasma source. The elimination system of claim 1, wherein the outlet of the remote plasma source is located in the foreline at least 10 feet from the location where the foreline is coupled to a chamber exhaust port. A processing system including: A processing chamber; an exhaust system including a vacuum pump coupled to the processing chamber; an exhaust cooling device coupled to the exhaust system between the processing chamber and the vacuum pump; and a remote electrical A plasma source for supplying a plasma to the exhaust system downstream of the processing chamber and before the exhaust cooling device, the remote plasma source is connected to an oxygen source, a clean gas source, and an inert gas A gas source, wherein the outlet of the remote plasma source is fluidly connected to enter an exhaust foreline at a location adjacent to an exhaust cooling device connected to an inlet of the foreline. The processing system according to claim 8, further comprising a controller, wherein the controller causes the remote plasma source to further supply a dissociated gas to the exhaust system. The processing system according to claim 8, wherein the clean gas source supplies NF ₃ , NF ₂ H, CHF ₃ or CF ₄ to the remote plasma source. The processing system of claim 8, wherein the outlet of the remote plasma source is fluidly connected to enter the location upstream of the inlet to the exhaust cooling device at a location between 6 inches and 18 inches Exhaust foreline. The processing system of claim 8, wherein the outlet of the remote plasma source is fluidly connected to enter the location upstream of the inlet to the exhaust cooling device at a location between 6 inches and 18 inches Exhaust foreline. The processing system according to claim 8, wherein the remote plasma source is one of the following: an inductively coupled plasma source, a capacitively coupled plasma source, a DC plasma source, or a microwave plasma source. The processing system of claim 8, wherein the outlet of the remote plasma source is located in the exhaust foreline at least 10 feet from a location where the foreline is coupled to a chamber exhaust port. A system includes a controller, wherein the controller includes a central processing unit and a memory, and the memory further includes software that, when executed by the central processing unit, causes the following operations to be performed: Using an oxidation plasma generated by a remote plasma source to treat exhaust gases from a deposition process performed in a processing chamber of the processing system, wherein the oxidation plasma includes an oxidation gas; and using the remote plasma source; A clean plasma generated by the end-plasma source processes exhaust gas from a cleaning process performed in the processing chamber of the processing system, wherein the clean plasma includes a clean gas. A method for processing a gas in an exhaust system of a processing chamber, the method comprising the following steps: Using an oxidation plasma generated from a remote plasma source to treat exhaust gas from a deposition process performed in the processing chamber; capturing particles in an exhaust cooling device; and using a remote plasma source A generated cleaning plasma processes the exhaust gas from a cleaning process performed in the processing chamber, the cleaning plasma reacts with the trapped particles in the exhaust cooling equipment and cleans the exhaust cooling equipment. The method of claim 16, wherein the remote plasma source is fluidly coupled to a clean gas source that supplies NF ₃ , NF ₂ H, CHF ₃ or CF ₄ to the remote plasma source. The method of claim 16, wherein the remote plasma source is fluidly connected to enter an exhaust gas from upstream of a foreline line inlet to the exhaust cooling device at a location between 6 and 18 inches Stage pipeline. The method of claim 16, wherein the remote plasma source is fluidly connected to enter an exhaust at a location at least 10 feet from the location where the exhaust foreline is coupled to a chamber exhaust port. Stage pipeline. The method of claim 16, wherein the deposition process is a TEOS process.